Walking the Weinsteig, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany Stage 3: Bad Dürkheim to Deidesheim

Walking the Weinsteig Stage 3: Bad Dürkheim to Deidesheim: 14.5km; Height climbed 480m; Time needed 4 hours
We last walked this section in Autumn 2015 on a mild sunny day, with some of our cycling club. In the cooler part of the year we walk or ramble more often than we cycle longer routes.
This is one of our favourite Weinsteig sections, with plenty of variety in the landscape and good views of the Rhine Plain.
We arrived at the station in Bad Dürkheim using tram 4 from Mannheim, a gentle way to sway across the gentle ups and downs of vineyards towards the edge of the Pfalzerwald escarpment. We stepped out directly into the square with the Wurstmarkt fountain, which may indicate the 'goings on' during the annual winefest, disguised as a 'Sausage festival'.  However there was nothing to distract us so we walked up through the town past interesting shops, picking up the Weinsteig signs on street furniture. This is Bad Dürkheim as the locals know it with  baker’s shops and sometimes even a few market stalls well away from the tourist area around the Riesenfass. The climb began with large villas replacing the shops. We left the major road, soon the tarmac is replaced by cobblestones between stone walls. Suddenly we are lead up through vines,  zigzagging up the hillside to the Flags Tower (Flaggenturm). That day there were good views here from Art Nouveau style windows, well worth the extra steps. Apart from the whole expanse of the Rhine Valley and Odenwald Hills beyond, the Roman Quarry from the previous route can be seen.
The marked route follows a rough trail through scrub and some rows of bio-vines, before we reached  a few expensive looking modern villas with manicured lawns. Then we were back into forest trails, rising a little before reaching an interesting section in  open woodland above a steep slope into a side valley. Tree roots and the steep slope on our left required our attention and nimble footwork. We reached a minor road and followed a marshy trail then a wide gravel path that led upwards, and upwards, through beeches and pines. The quiet of the woods, normally only broken by bird noise or leaf rustles is often spoilt by aeroplane noise here. Overhead is a holding area for transport planes approaching a distant military airport. Soon a narrower, steeper path turns sharply over a ridge then equally steeply descends to a motor road. We crossed, with care, past a boule pitch, where we ate our picnic at the convenient benches. It had been a long time since breakfast. Various hawks wheeled against the blue skies, occasionally divebombed themselves by territorial crows.
The road is about 100m lower than the hillside above so we had a steep but easy climb up the side of the Wachenheimerbach Valley to the Wachtenburg, the castle, our next target, visible through the trees. The castle dates back to the 12th century and although extensively damaged on several occasions it has been lovingingly restored. There are excellent views from the terrace, drinks and food if the place is open, as well as toilets.
After any rest comes the reckoning and we puffed up some steps and along a ridge, surprisingly being overtaken by a 4x4 en route to a cottage in the woods. Then we were into forest over the ridge through delightful woods on springy paths. Eventually we reached a signpost, close to a boundary stone, where forest roads cross at Grüne Bank. Indeed there is a green bench to sit on at this highest point, so we did and squeezed another few drops out of our flask.
There are gentle rises and falls as we wandered over the summit of the plateau then a more obvious climb to the Heidenlöcher, another of the great prehistoric stoneworks dotted around these hills. In addition to the outer walls, there are deeply cut holes here, so it pays to wend carefully across following the markers to the other side. With our group it was also a place to mark by munching chocolate or downing a tiny schnapps, no one was cycling that day!
Finally we began to lose height taking care among the drifts of leaves, tree roots and ankle turning stones. The white St Michaelskapelle appeared immediately below on a shelf of land with a view over Deidesheim and beyond. More knee crunching steep track leads downhill, out of the woods and into vineyards. A fine stone sculpture celebrates wine culture, then down and down, to reach Deidesheim. The establishments of vintners and restaurants lining the road leave no doubt that this is a place to linger, the former summer residence of the Bishop of Speyer. We've often stopped in one of the welcoming cafés, where cakes incorporating wine can be enjoyed with a clear conscience. Some of the best known and revered wines of the Pfalz can be tasted or enjoyed with a meal here, but check the prices shown outside the entrances first.

Wurstmarkt Fountain Bad Dürkheim

Windows at the Flagganturm

J on narrow path, tree roots, boulders

Wachtenburg

At Heidenlöcher, Schnapps or Chocs?

By St Michaelskapelle

Walking the Weinsteig, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany Stage 2: Neuleiningen to Bad Dürkheim

Stage 2: Neuleiningen to Bad Dürkheim, February 12, Distance 17km; Height climbed about 400m; Walking time 4 3/4 hours
Weather: Dry, mist hugging the valley floor, sunny later, temperature 4-9°C, good visibility.
In early February we returned to Neuleiningen to pick up the second stage of the Weinsteig. This is very different with little open country, but the signposting is excellent. This is very important on routes through woodland. Starting in the valley below the town we climbed through woods of pine, beech, or oak with the occasional larch. To the north we glanced back at Neuleiningen, perched on its crag above the incised valley of the  River Eckbach, then on to Battenberg with yet another castle ruin, battered initially by the French in 1689, still used by local nobility into the 18th century. However, what we found much more interesting were its ochre-coloured weathered rocks exposed on the roadside below the ruins. They are signposted off the trail to the right. These curious formations are known as Blitzröhren, thought to be caused by lightning strikes. Modern explanations are that they are due to concentrations of iron minerals in New Red Sandstone which resist weathering.
Back to the route, up through the village and away from inviting offers of lunch it was time to start the long but relatively easy climb using forest paths, liberally studded with white quartz pebbles. Away from the front edge of the Pfälzerwald, up and up leaving the wine villages such as Weisenheim am Berg below on the fertile fault line margins. We met no one today on this part of the  trail and it was still too cool for many birds to be about. After some steady walking we reached  the Jägerkreuz, a memorial to a hunter who died  mysteriously in 1702. Accident or murder? It seemed a good idea to press on and gradually we reached parts of the trail better known to us from earlier walks. Off to our left lay the Ungeheuersee (Monster Lake), in reality a delightful pool, but the Germans like to frighten. No point in a detour today since the typical Hütte which serves food and drinks on summer weekends would still be shuttered and locked for the winter.
We continued gently rising and falling sometimes with glimpses of small settlements like Altleiningen revealed as hill and valley sides open out. At last a few walkers appeared as we approached the first road to cross the Pfalzerwald, south from Neuleiningen, at Lindemannsruhe. The old Forester's House is now  a restaurant, with a cozy atmosphere and tasty local food, as we knew from previous visits. However February days are still too short, so we pressed on up a rough track to the day’s highest point (487m) at the Bismarckturm (Bismarck Tower).  Still surrounded by tall beeches and Scots pines the route returns over rounded hills, past the Teufelsstein (Devil’s Stone) a large weathered boulder and then past moss covered Celtic stoneworks to the edge of the plateau. Finally the trees opened out so we could glimpse the Rhine Plain. At a shelter hut above Kriemhildenstuhl we paused to read the information above the sheer drop into a quarry (fenced off, fortunately). The quarry was used by Roman stonemasons, who left some graffiti, readable from the grassy quarry floor below the steep pathway. Our knees were protesting as we crunched through leaf debris from the chestnut trees down more zigzags into the outskirtsof Bad Dürkheim, a delightful little town, and finally back into the vineyards. Bad Dürkheim is a place to savour and enjoy, where we often take visitors and meet friends, but after a long walk it was time to head home, through the dusk. I'll enlarge on its delights in a later post.
(Otto von Bismarck, 1814-1898 was, at first, a minor figure from Prussia, who through fortuitous circumstances and sheer force of personality, succeeded in uniting the  numerous dukedoms, principalities and fiefdoms into the Pre-WWI country of Germany. He became the first Chancellor. He was revered by many during his lifetime and there was a cult of building towers and lookout points. Though many of these seem aggressively Teutonic in style, they do serve as landmarks especially in forested regions and offer good views.)

Looking at Neuleiningen from the Weinsteig

The Blitzröhren

The hunter's cross memorial

Storm damage hazards are frequent

Teufelsstein has tempting footholds for energetic walkers

Bad Dürkheim's Schloßpark in summer

Walking the Weinsteig, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany Stage 1 Bockenheim to Neuleinigen

For several years now we have played with the idea of walking the Palatinate Weinsteig along the edge of the hills above the Rhine Valley on the left bank.  The way marked Weinsteig walking route is 171 kilometre long - just over a hundred miles. It has recently been extended and the route now starts in Bockenheim an der Weinstraße, runs through Hambach, Neuleinigen and Wachenheim with their castles; two spa towns: Bad Dürkheim with its giant wine barrel and Bad Bergzabern; Deidesheim where former federal Chancellor Kohl has enjoyed many a Saumagen with Sauerkraut; Neustadt an der Weinstraße to Schweigen-Rechtenbach with its Weintor and across to Wissembourg in northern Alsace.
We live just north of Mannheim and the whole Weinsteig region lies within our local transport area. We have pensioners' tickets, that we pay for, but give us free transport everywhere in the area. This enable us to reach the start of the walks and return home in the evenings. Bus, tram and local train connections are only a mouse-click away, though weekday frequencies are best. This is no problem as we are retired.

Stage 1: Bockenheim  to Neuleingingen January 2016
17.7 km, 250 m of climbing, weather cool, (7°C), sunny, moderate wind, good visibility.
The name Weinsteig means Wine Route, with -steig indicating narrow, steep, climbing rather than wide or gentle. Today's route led us from well-kept, tiny Bockenheim through the surrounding vineyards up towards the crest of the Palatinate Hills. We passed a set of fine gates across the entrance to a vintners before reaching the Haus der Deutschen Weinstrasse, which makes a modern arch over the B 271 at the edge of the town.

We followed red and white signs up into the vineyards, still naked and heavily pruned, gradually rising above the Rhine Plain. Gravel tracks, tarred roads, pausing to take in the landscape or watching the hawks wheel overhead. Small holes and runways suggested large populations of field hamsters or mice and despite the numerous lazily turning wind turbines, there seemed to be plenty of large birds of prey ready to eat them. We walked through open country, with copses of trees or bushes covering piles of limestone, along rows of vines and past occasional ancient signs of settlement. There was the blackened chunk of stone, perhaps the site of Celtic rituals, close by an early Christian chapel. For some time we met no one, then a family by a picnic table where we, too, stopped for a snack, and at the end of the day reckoned we had encountered nine people, including a woman on a horse.

We continued to climb and then descend into minor valleys, open fields much too green for January and then a steep descent into Mertesheim, once a centre of mining for ores. The road along the valley was the first we had seen or heard in the last couple of hours. From here onwards we were walking over sandstones, that produce infertile soils and are mostly left as woodland which covers nearly all the main uplands of the Palatinate Forest. Both of us were beginning to feel the effects of distance and height climbed, so we both needed cups of lemon and ginger tea and a power bar as we reached the top of the hill above Grünstadt. After walking through a small park we found ourselves leaving the woods again and realised that in the distance to the NE we could see the Donnersberg at 686m, the highest in the Pfalz. Onwards and around the next hilltop our view changed, back to vines, the horse and rider and below the line and drone of the A6 Autobahn. The road itself is well-known to us, one of our routes back to the UK, but it also meant that we were now very close to Neuleiningen. All day we had been buffeted by a chilly wind in our faces and now the low sun reminded us of the shortness of the daylight in January. We marched the next few kilometres, past farm and restaurant, to the road tunnel beneath the A6 and into Neuleiningen at a good pace.

We made it to the bus stop near the castle with about 10 minutes to spare, then into Grünstadt where the railway station still has the original Ludwig's Railway wrought iron stanchions holding up the wooden canopy. The Palatinate was ruled by Bavaria when the railway was built. A good day's walk in bright winter sunshine, where we had never been before.

Walking in Winter I

We live in the Rhine Valley bounded on the west by the Pfälzerwald hills and on the east by the Odenwald hills, both good areas for walking, even in winter. Leaving the small town of Bad Dürkheim last week the air was crisp so we enjoyed the walk up to the Flag Tower, above, a folly erected basically to improve the view. Here the vines had been pruned leaving one shoot which later would be tied to the wires and bear this summers grapes. Now we had warmed up after our longish tram ride and set off along the marked Weinsteig (Wine way). Winter trees displayed their trunk and branch structures like this birch and even the roadside bushes revealed their inner secrets.

What a difference blue skies make, especially as we found hazel catkins round the corner (see below). Soon we reached one of the more exacting stages of the walk. The trail narrows and the land falls steeply away through the stands of mostly Scots Pines. Last year people started to pile small cairns precariously on wayside stones and some of these have survived the winter frosts and gales. Smaller birds twittered encouragingly in the undergrowth, whilst later large hawks circled over the woods

We found a convenient bench to have our picnic, overlooking a boule pitch as our route descended to cross the road to Wachenheim and then continued up to the castle nearby. The days were still short so we pressed on, mostly in the woods, up and down, following the red and white markers towards the prosperous wine-making town of Deidesheim. On the last hilltop above the town lies the curious ancient remains of the Heidenlöcher, where a drystone wall of Celtic origin encloses roughly rectangular holes where people lived when their villages were threatened. They date from around 800 AD, possibly from when Viking invasions along the Rhine were frequent.

The Flag Tower built as a folly to give the wellness guests in Bad Dürkheim somewhere to walk to.

Wintry trees 

Hazel Catkins

Cairn building is popular in Germany

Honister Slate Mine to Keswick on Remembrance Day

On Remembrance Sunday 2013 we were stopping with friends in Keswick. They had volunteered to man the car park at the Honister Slate Mine to collect for the Poppy Appeal. There is a tradition in the Lake District that there is a Remembrance Day Service on Great Gable. The car park at the Honister Slate Mine is one of the nearest car parks to the peak.  Our friends had to be there by 07:00, so we left their home at 06:30 and climbed into their frozen car.

It was light by the time we reached the slate mine and we set off round the back of  the Youth Hostel following the miners' trail downhill. We'd decided not to go up to Great Gable because we would have needed to take the same way back against a flow of visitors, as our friends were due to stop chinking tins at 10:00. Our aim was to walk down to Grange in Borrowdale. 

The track was good, though slippery in parts and easy to follow. This was good as British waymarking is very patchy compared to the Teutonic systems we are used to. It was a very clear and fresh morning. The high peaks around had a dusting of snow from the storms of the day before. As the sun lit up the frost covered floor of Borrowdale it resembled nothing less than a water colour painting. We negotiated the back of Castle Crag with care as the way was steep with many loose stones. We had a cup of tea and a piece of cake in the Grange Cafe. Our friends arrived and suggested that we walk back to Keswick. We did not hesitate and took the Panorama Way overlooking Derwent Water before dropping into Portinscale and the outskirts of Keswick. Length 17km - about 10 miles.

Even if you have not got friends prepared to offer their car as a taxi service you can take a bus from Keswick up the pass in summer that will bring you to the slate mine. The Slate Mine has a cafe and sells excellent bacon butties amongst other items.

Leaving the slate mine car park.

Looking down into Borrowdale

Castle Crag to the right. Derwent Water and  Skiddaw to the front.

Derwent Water

A cold day in the Odenwald

Our cycle club in the form of the section where we were formerly members: Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrradclub Kreis Bergstraße organises excellent walks every winter. Today we met in Bensheim and went by car up to Neunkirchen, a hamlet in the Odenwald. We set up carpools to cut down the environmental impact. In Neunkirchen we walked through knee deep snow over the Germannshöhe via Freiheit (Freedom) to the hamlet of Winterkasten. We ate well in the Raupenstein Guesthouse and then set off along the local road to climb through sticky rather unpleasant snow over Raupenstein Hill. We followed the border between Heppenheim and Bensheim through a the forest on an unmarked way. Fortunately the snow was deep enough that we could follow the tracks of others. From Schleichenhöhe we followed the red square route to the foot of the Kaiserturm, before turning off left to skirt the Neunkirchener Höhe and reach Neunkirchen once more. We had the obligatory Kaffee und Kuchen in the Höhenhaus restaurant, before returning to Bensheim. A four hour 14 km walk with about 400 m climbing and several million calories. An excellent day.